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Alison DownsSince LADYBIRD ADRIFT was such a heavy topic, I walked away from it a little fatigued, with a desire to work on something more "fun." I'm currently…moreSince LADYBIRD ADRIFT was such a heavy topic, I walked away from it a little fatigued, with a desire to work on something more "fun." I'm currently working on a middle-grade adventure novel (working title AGGIE BEA AND THE GREAT BORING) which could potentially turn out to be a series. I'm also kicking around some ideas for my first children's picture book...(less)

"I can’t remember the last time something as trivial as a gray hair had even crossed my mind. We have bigger pFiction/Literary Fiction/Women's Fiction

"I can’t remember the last time something as trivial as a gray hair had even crossed my mind. We have bigger problems these days. Different transformations."

Claudia "Ladybird" Johnson has always had a difficult life. With her 30th birthday fast approaching, she moves to the city in a desperate attempt to turn it all around. In a short period of time, her basic needs are met—she has new friends, a new job, and a place to live... but she soon realizes that New York City is not the band-aid she thought it would be.

Enter Victor Raines, a kindred spirit 30 years her senior. A professor of literature at Columbia, his confidence draws Claudia in, despite her initial reluctance. As their relationship develops, Claudia discovers a clearer sense of self than she thought possible.

However, as Claudia blossoms, Victor begins to deteriorate. Moody and withdrawn, every day he is less like the man she fell in love with. Together they must struggle to make each moment count... but how long can she keep the fog from closing in?

“I read once that the ancient Egyptians had fifty words for sand & the Eskimos had a hundred words for snow. I wish I had a thousand words for love, but all that comes to mind is the way you move against me while you sleep & there are no words for that.”
―
Brian Andreas,
Story People: Selected Stories & Drawings of Brian Andreas

“Men always say that as the defining compliment, don’t they? She’s a cool girl. Being the Cool Girl means I am a hot, brilliant, funny woman who adores football, poker, dirty jokes, and burping, who plays video games, drinks cheap beer, loves threesomes and anal sex, and jams hot dogs and hamburgers into her mouth like she’s hosting the world’s biggest culinary gang bang while somehow maintaining a size 2, because Cool Girls are above all hot. Hot and understanding. Cool Girls never get angry; they only smile in a chagrined, loving manner and let their men do whatever they want. Go ahead, shit on me, I don’t mind, I’m the Cool Girl.

Men actually think this girl exists. Maybe they’re fooled because so many women are willing to pretend to be this girl. For a long time Cool Girl offended me. I used to see men – friends, coworkers, strangers – giddy over these awful pretender women, and I’d want to sit these men down and calmly say: You are not dating a woman, you are dating a woman who has watched too many movies written by socially awkward men who’d like to believe that this kind of woman exists and might kiss them. I’d want to grab the poor guy by his lapels or messenger bag and say: The bitch doesn’t really love chili dogs that much – no one loves chili dogs that much! And the Cool Girls are even more pathetic: They’re not even pretending to be the woman they want to be, they’re pretending to be the woman a man wants them to be. Oh, and if you’re not a Cool Girl, I beg you not to believe that your man doesn’t want the Cool Girl. It may be a slightly different version – maybe he’s a vegetarian, so Cool Girl loves seitan and is great with dogs; or maybe he’s a hipster artist, so Cool Girl is a tattooed, bespectacled nerd who loves comics. There are variations to the window dressing, but believe me, he wants Cool Girl, who is basically the girl who likes every fucking thing he likes and doesn’t ever complain. (How do you know you’re not Cool Girl? Because he says things like: “I like strong women.” If he says that to you, he will at some point fuck someone else. Because “I like strong women” is code for “I hate strong women.”)”
―
Gillian Flynn,
Gone Girl

“People have forgotten this truth," the fox said. "But you mustn’t forget it. You become responsible forever for what you’ve tamed. You’re responsible for your rose.”
―
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry,
The Little Prince

What's the Name of That Book???
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Can't remember the title of a book you read? Come search our archives and shelves. If you don’t find it there, post a description on our UNSOLVED messCan't remember the title of a book you read? Come search our archives and shelves. If you don’t find it there, post a description on our UNSOLVED message board and we can try to help each other out.
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Thanks for your help....more

Writers and Readers
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A group for writers and readers to meet and discuss books and the writing process. The group allows promotion of books, but please post in the designaA group for writers and readers to meet and discuss books and the writing process. The group allows promotion of books, but please post in the designated folders....more

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